Diversifying Medical Care Suppliers in China

By Zhou Qiren

Over the past six months, I have visited quite a few medical service institutions, both in urban and rural areas. These impromptu visits left me with the impression that Chinese cities and the vast countryside have witnessed a substantial increase in the number of grassroots medical services, whose buildings, equipment and even medical staff uniforms are brand-new. Several hospital registers had told me that even in the most remote villages, there were at least four to five patients visiting those institutions every day. In community health centers in metropolitan areas, doctors were engaged with tending to elderly people and children. After many years, the controversial health care reform has yielded some desirable results.